Jimmy Butler had an enormous impact on the Golden State Warriors last season, helping to take a below .500 team all the way to the second-round of the playoffs before Stephen Curry’s injury ruined any hope against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Butler’s blockbuster arrival to the Bay generated improvement in a number of different areas, but it was the veteran’s ability to uplift his teammates that was perhaps the most telling point from his start to life as a Warrior.

Now Golden State appear to be doubling down on one of Butler’s biggest strengths, potentially making for an even better version of the 6x All-Star as the franchise plots a path back towards legitimate title contention.

The Warriors are set to surround Jimmy Butler with more shooting

Nothing defined Butler’s ability to make his teammates better more than the contrasting shooting percentages of Golden State players pre and post the February All-Star break. While the 35-year-old certainly brought an interior scoring and free-throw threat that the Warriors desperately needed, his unselfishness was also fully on display (perhaps too much at times) in looking to find his teammates in drive-and-kick situations.

Almost all of Golden State’s key players saw a rise in their 3-point percentage after the All-Star break. Given Butler’s arrival happened shortly before, that can’t be a coincidence. Leading snipers Stephen Curry, Buddy Hield and Quinten Post all saw an uptick in their 3-point percentage to end the regular season, and so too Moses Moody until a thumb injury became problematic.

The biggest improvement was found in left-handed duo Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II. The latter nearly doubled his percentage from 23.6% to 45% after the All-Star break, while Podziemski rose from 32% to 43.8% on over six attempts per game.

Butler’s effectiveness dwindled once Curry went down injured and his teammates started missing shots in the second-round against the Timberwolves, but the Warriors appear to be addressing that by adding more shooting to the roster with their reported free agency moves.

Al Horford will provide a spacing threat Golden State need to complement Butler and Draymond Green in the front court, while De’Anthony Melton is a noted three-and-D specialist who shot 37.1% on nearly six attempts per game with the franchise prior to his ACL injury last season.

One of Golden State’s last roster spots could also go to either Seth Curry who is seventh all-time in 3-point percentage, or Malcolm Brogdon who is a very steady 38.8% from beyond the arc during his nine-year career.

The Warriors will certainly be granting Butler his wish by surrounding him with more shooters, allowing him to continue impacting the game and the team in ways far beyond his individual scoring ability.